


On the Run [ DISCONTINUED ]

by darkwolf_tundra



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, M/M, barista!evan, song writer!evan, you can't rip bipolar connor out of my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:29:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11172351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkwolf_tundra/pseuds/darkwolf_tundra
Summary: Evan, an innocent barista, just so happens to engage in small talk with Connor Murphy, who doesn't get the best first impression of Evan.[ DISCONTINUED ]





	1. No Smoking

**Author's Note:**

> ~~i had a bunch of connor and evan ideas for my crossover fic, but i decided to just make a whole different story for said ideas instead! i might update this a bit more frequently than the crossover fic because i have a lot less characters to work with and such.~~
> 
> ~~thanks for showing interest!~~
> 
> ~~**note:** if you would like to beta read for me, i just set up a new tumblr! message me at darkwolftundra!! i just ask for you to be pretty decent when it comes to grammar and spelling, thanks!~~
> 
> discontinuing bc i'm gonna merge ideas with this fic with a w.i.p one!

Evan was put on cashier duty, which is practically hell for him. Some customers gave him pity looks whenever he stumbled over his words. What he need isn't pity. He needed a break.

"Jeez, Evan. Glad you're not on working the machines right now. You would've had customers running out and never returning once they find out how much sweat goes into their coffee." An arm was draped across his shoulders, and Evan glared at Jared as best as a nice boy like Evan could.

"No, no Jared, don't say things like that, you know that my hands get sweaty only when I think about it too much or see a very pretty girl and overthink my actions and, and," Evan started, fidgeting with his hands as he spoke quickly.

"Relaaax, holy shit, dude. I was joking! Anyways, move aside Evan, the amazing Jared Kleinman has arrived to save your ass from cashier duty." The brunet patted Evan's shoulder briskly, then pulled away and lightly pushed the blond out of the way to access the cash register.

Evan was grateful, heading into the backroom and untied his black apron, putting it back onto the hanger. He brushed down his white dress shirt that was part of this café's uniform, white sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The barista slid out of the backroom and into the shop, giving Jared an awkward smile before exiting the store.

He was going to take off to rest at the local park or something before his shift resumed, but he saw somebody his age smoking just outside of the shop. He glanced at the "No Smoking" sign put up behind the window, then back at the male(?). He had dark brown hair that reached his shoulders and were wavy just in the slightest way at the bottom. He wore a dark gray sweater that was zipped up three quarters of the way, with a black shirt under. The unnamed stranger also wore black skinny jeans and had black nail polish painted onto his nails.

This person wasn't like somebody Evan saw often. He kind of intrigued him, but Evan also had the feeling that he could fuck him up if he felt like it. But before he could stop himself, he approached the other and spoke up.

"Um, hey, you're, you're actually not allowed to smoke here?" Evan said, pursing his lips. Instead of stopping there, Evan went on, something he hated about himself because he couldn't really stop it, "I mean uh, I don't want to cause you any trouble but you probably didn't see the big 'No Smoking' sign at the window and that's, that's okay, we all don't notice something and I just wanted to inform you." At the end of the sentence, Evan's voice faltered, looking at the ground.

"Whoops. My bad. Didn't even see it." Replied the still nameless stranger, but he made no move to put out whatever he was smoking (which Evan got the impression wasn't a cigarette). Instead, he took another drag. 

"O-Oh. Right." And now it was quiet between them, and Evan realized that he forgot something in the backroom. "I'll just uh, I'll just go then!" Evan rushed back into the café and into the backroom, opening his locker and taking out a small notebook. He checked the clock placed on the wall. Still about twenty minutes for his break. He was lucky to find a boss nice enough to give him a total of fifty minutes of break time (split into twenty-five minutes).

When he walked back out, he bumped into somebody, dropping his notebook. 

"Sorry," he murmured, but the person only glared at him and proceeded into the shop.

"You dropped this." The smoking stranger from earlier held out a book to Evan, taking another drag from whatever he was smoking (weed?) before dropping and stepping on it.

"Oh, right, uh, thanks. Sorry." Evan gave the other a small smile, hesitantly taking the book back.

"Sorry?" Repeated the brunet, a brow quirked. "You're sorry for what, exactly?" 

Evan licked his lips, because  _great_ , he probably annoyed this person, and now he's going to get beaten up! "I, I was just saying sorry because you had to pick up my book, which you probably didn't want to in the first place but you were trying to be nice, and I don't want to be a jerk for forcing you to do something you didn't want to do you see, so—yeah, sorry."

For a moment, the brunet was quiet. He saw the unnamed stranger press his lips together, shake his head, and say, "You're weird." It's not like Evan heard  _that_ before. "Connor Murphy."

Is that his name? Of course that's his name, what else would it be? Now Evan was just being stupid. "Evan. Hansen. Uh, nice to meet you... Connor?" 

"Yeah. Whatever. I gotta go, so see you." He abruptly turned away and started to walk off, but he didn't seem to notice the lighter dropping out of his pocket. Evan bent down to pick it up, twirling it between his fingers before looking in the direction Connor had disappeared to.

"Hey, wait up!" The blond tripped over his own feet when he tried to run after Connor, but managed to catch himself and continued to run after the other. 

Now, Evan wasn't really the athletic type. By the time he saw Connor in front of an apartment, he was a panting mess, trying to regain breathing. He took a deep breath, standing up straight once more.

"You, uh, you—" He started, but was cut off by his new acquaintance. 

"You followed me," Connor said, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you  _stalking_ me? What the hell are you thinking? Fucking creep! You followed me so I could freak out and you could tell all your friends about how crazy I am, right?  _Right_?"  _No_ , he has it all wrong, Evan thought. He winced as Connor shouted at him.

"No! No, no, Connor, you, you dropped something and I-I wanted to give it back to you! I swear I wasn't trying to put a bad, a bad name on you!" Evan held out the lighter, trying to express how sincere he was.

Still suspicious with his eyes still glinting with minor anger, Connor walks over and stared at the lighter in his hand. Connor pulled it from his hand roughly, making Evan flinch. He muttered a half-hearted apology.

"Sorry," Evan breathed out. "Sorry I made you think that I had, uh, ulterior motives." He played with the hem of his dress shirt, not meeting the other's eyes. 

"You say sorry a lot," Connor noted, taking a few steps back. Evan looked back up at him, trying not to say the S-word again. "And you want to say it again, don't you." He nodded. "Alright. Anyway, why don't you come in? It's your break, isn't it?"

"Uh, sure. Thanks." Evan followed Connor into the apartment complex. He glanced at the wall clock. Less than fifteen minutes, Evan prays that he doesn't miss his next shift.

"So you work at a café," Connor began, draping himself over his couch. "but you also have a problem with speaking." Evan sat on another chair and placed his book on the coffee table, nodding. "And I saw you working the cashier earlier. Are you sure this is the best job for you?"

"Well, no, you see, I like this job a lot, it's just that a lot of the other times I pray that my friend Jared or other coworkers are here to takeover the cashier so I don't have to do it, I prefer working the machines and such, it's the job that makes my hands less sweaty and people don't  _want_ sweat in their coffee or on their money, so it's actually pretty great working behind the clover and other machines, and funny thing is that I used to work as a park ranger so I know a bit about trees but I'm not really sure how I went from a ranger to a barista, but I'm not really complaining because the pay is still pretty great and, yeah. I'm rambling, sorry."

Connor let out a small chuckle, which was something Evan had never heard ever since meeting this guy twenty minutes ago. "You know what, I should be annoyed, but the strangest part of this is that I'm completely fine with your rambling." Evan made a noise that was supposed to be a sigh of relief but was also a squeak of embarrassment.

"Well, that's, that's definitely a relief, and—" Evan smiled and glanced at the clock, only for his smile to fall. "—and I  _really_ ,  _really_ need to go!" Evan scrambled towards the door, turning back to Connor to give him his signature Evan smile. "I-It was great hanging out with you for five minutes, though!"

"That's a first. Never heard of anybody enjoying the time they spent hanging out with me before." Connor said nonchalantly. He offered a small wave. "I'll see you after your shift." Oh.  _Oh_. Connor wanted to hang out with him again? Evan didn't have time to dwell on the thought as he rushed out of the door and into the elevator. That's when he remembered his book.

Not again.

He'll just pray that Connor doesn't look through it. It'd be embarrassing if somebody who bothered talking to you found out that you're a song writer.

* * *

 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. You're telling me that the creep who keeps smoking outside this shop hung out with  _you_? And that's why you're late to your shift? Evan Hansen, goody-two-shoes, late because of Creepy McCreepers. Alright, seems believable. You're a huge pushover."

Evan groaned, his palm to his forehead. "Jared, that's not the point! Point is, my book is at his apartment and he's basically  _demanding_ I hang out with him! What if he just wants me to come over again so he can taunt me about my book, or, or rob me of my pay check, or, or—"

"Christ, Evan, can you calm down a little?" Jared had a smirk playing on his lips, obviously finding amusement in Evan's crisis. "He just wants to get to know you a little more. Besides, isn't that what you've always wanted? To  _cha-cha slide_ into someone's DMs? Actually, I think  _he's_ the one doing that here. Eh? Eh?" His friend nudged him a few times, wiggling a brow. "Boyfriend material right here. Who wouldn't want a taste of this? Well, besides me, because I am  _way_ out of your league."

Evan rolled his eyes but still smiled, grabbing a cup of coffee. "I doubt Connor likes me, barely as a friend too." 

"Well, you never know if you don't test it out, Evan. Maybe getting a boyfriend will make you less lonely and antisocial."

 


	2. Rooftop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still semi-rushing through. trying to make chapters at least a little satisfactory. hope you all enjoy, thank you!
> 
> tumblr: darkwolftundra.tumblr.com

Evan was just about to knock on the door when Connor swung it open, tossing a book at him which Evan successfully managed to catch, despite the lack of warning. 

"W-What—" Evan watched as the brunet shut the door, twisting the knob and making sure the door was locked. He then walked down the hall of the floor. 

"Well? Are you coming?" Connor raised an eyebrow at the blond, but didn't stick around for an answer. He was already walking past the elevator and through a door at the end of the hall.

Not sure what to do, Evan followed, jogging over to the other door and trying to catch up with Connor. He passed through the door and heard footsteps above him. He assumed it was Connor and began his journey up the staircase. It was lit up nicely, with carpeted stairs to get rid of the eerie vibe that most apartment complexes gave off.

After a few flight of stairs, he saw Connor at the final platform in front of a door. Evan approached him as he opened the door, and natural light shone through. 

"We're, we're on the roof," Evan stated, as if he couldn't believe it. "On the roof of your apartment building..." He suddenly felt a burst of anxiety come to life within him.  _What if he wants to throw me off_?

"No shit, Sherlock." Connor took out his lighter and something that seemed kind of like a blunt and lit it up. "Welcome to my escape zone. When I'm angry, I grab a few rocks and toss them onto the street. It's fun. You can probably give someone a concussion, too, if you're lucky." He sat down on the gravel, digging up a few big rocks and holding them up with satisfaction. He chucked it over the edge which was a few feet away from where he was sitting.

Evan sat next to him but also frowned. "What? Y-You're willing to just... Accidentally hurt someone?" Connor only shrugged, taking another deep breath from his joint.

"Want some?" He offered, holding out the drug(?) to Evan. The dirty blond boy just stared at it, shaking his head.

"No, I uh, I don't do drugs, I don't like making my mom uh, disappointed." 

"Makes sense."

They sat in silence, neither saying anything, just watching the sun go down slowly. 

"So, you write songs?"  _Oh shit_. He read his book.

"Uh, no, no! This is, er, my sister's book! Yeah, she uh, she wanted me to hold onto her book for a bit, since she uh, is going to... Japan! Yeah. There. She didn't want anybody there taking her songbook, so she just," Evan swallowed the lump in his throat, "she gave it to me. To hold it. Safe keeping, you know?" Cue the awkward laughter.

"It has your name on the first page."

"She likes my name!" Evan said immediately, beginning to sweat. "She uh, she wishes that her name's Evan. Haha, it's, it's funny, really!" 

"Evan, you're a terrible liar." Connor stated blandly, staring at the sky nonchalantly. "I don't care if you're a song writer or not. I could care less." That shut Evan up. He recoiled, opening his book to see if anything happened to it.

What he didn't expect were little letters written above lyrics. He blinked a few times, looking back at Connor in silent awe. 

"The fuck are you looking at?" Connor growled, eyebrows knitting together. "Is there something wrong with my face?" His tone was challenging, as if daring Evan to insult him in some way.

Evan quickly straightened his back, opening and closing his mouth and letting out various of sounds. "N-No, it's just, I uh, you... You wrote. Letters. Above my lyrics. Chords?" He looked back at his book, brushing his finger over the small letters. He played the chords in his head and looked over the lyrics. 

"Yeah. The lyrics are pretty creative. I like the metaphor in the song. You're a pretty decent songwriter." His eyes softened in the slightest bit, feeling more relaxed than when Connor thought he was insulting him.

"I-uh, um," Evan stammered, unsure what to say or how to react to the compliment. "Thanks. Nobody really sees my book, so uh, yeah. It means a lot. Thanks." Evan smiled at Connor to let him know that, yeah, it's a genuine thank you. 

Connor said nothing. He just nodded his head and smoked his joint (Evan decided that it was weed). Evan pulled out his phone to check the time, licking his lips.

"It's, uh, I... I should go now. Thanks for having me over. Sorry if I bothered you, I only mean well, I mean, it makes sense if I was annoying you and all but—" He took a deep breath and exhaled, standing up. "I'll uh, I'll look over these chords you wrote."

"Give me your phone." Connor stood up as well, hand out and waiting for Evan's phone. Evan tried to say something, but all that he formed was an incoherent mess, and he decided to just give the brunet his phone. 

Evan just stared as his feet while Connor was doing whatever he did with his phone, before getting it back. 

"I know a bit of guitar thanks to my sister, and since I surprisingly didn't have a horrible day, you can hit me up whenever you want. I can help you with your songs if you'd like. Consider it." And with that, the brunet turned on his heels and left Evan on the roof.

* * *

"He's hitting on you, dude. And I know this because this probably isn't going to be some weird slow as fuck burn story on the internet or something." Jared said, scrolling through his phone on his and Evan's couch. His legs were over Evan's own pair, and he didn't mind. He just tried to browse the internet on his laptop, which was on Jared's legs.

"No, Jared. What are you talking about? Theoretically speaking, if we were in a romance novel of some sort, it would obviously be slow burn because things like these shouldn't be fast pace, you know? I think it'd be healthier to develop trust in one another before jumping into a relationship, like—"

"Evan, shut up. You were in a relationship with Zoe Murphy at one point, weren't you?" Jared let out a hearty laugh. "That was hilarious! A great way to kick off senior year, making out with some chick you barely talked to but had a hardcore crush on, and—"

"Wait!" Evan's mind put the pieces together. "I forgot... Zoe had a brother, and, and... I didn't really see him much, but I think he went to the same school, and whenever I went over Zoe's house, she would say that he's out or something, and..." His brows furrowed. "I think Connor Murphy is Zoe's brother."

"Wow. You know, that really makes sense. They both have the same last name, and you have a weird romantic infatuation with both of them while you've barely even  _spoke_ to them... Huh. I guess you have a thing for Murphys, huh?"

"Jared! That's not true!" Evan said, trying to hide his blush by putting his hands over his face.

"It  _so_ is, and you are definitely blushing there, mister! How  _adorable_. Last time I checked, though, Connor Murphy threw a printer at our second grade teacher for not letting him be  _line leader_! A crush on Zoe, I'd understand. A crush on  _Connor Murphy_? Oh man, Evan. Having a crush on me would make your life a hundred percent easier. Or ninety nine percent. It'd be unrequited, after all."  

"Now you're just talking nonsense, Jared, and I'm still kind of in a crisis here, so if you could support me in a way that's not with your jokes on who I like, that'd be great, thanks."

"Fine. Hey, I have an idea!" Evan looked at Jared cautiously, because when Jared has an idea, it's probably not possible unless they were in a universe where dragons and unicorns existed.

"Something that's actually realistic for once, please?"

"Wow, first of all, that hurt. Second of all, the plan is simple! You're currently drenched in writer's block, right?" Before Evan could respond, Jared continued. "So why don't you invite Connor on a date and write about how fantastic it was? Well, if it turns out crappy, of course you can write how crappy it was. Bam, inspiration in no time! See, Evan? I'm a genius."

Evan opened his mouth but then closed it, considering the idea. "Okay, fine, it's not a bad idea, but it's not going to be a date. More like... Two friends. Er, two people. On a... A nice day."  _Oh, not bad_. Evan thought. He pulled up Notepad on his PC, writing ideas for lyrics.

"You are  _so_ lucky to have me as your friend." Jared shot Evan a smirk, resting his head over an arm and continuing to scroll with his free hand.

"Kind of." Evan reached for his phone on the coffee table, grabbing it and clicking on his contacts. He shot a certain somebody a message, smiling absentmindedly to himself.

"You're cute when you smile." Jared said nonchalantly, though he moved his hand back and his phone obscured his face once more. Evan began to sputter.  _Jared rarely compliments me._

**Author's Note:**

> oops, this seems kind of rushed, but i'm itching to get my ideas out onto the story. unfortunately, those ideas do not involve the beginning of this story, it actually kind of revolves connor and evan being friends or boyfriends. i'll try to pace the story a bit as well, so stay tuned!


End file.
